Preventing and Enforcing Musculoskeletal Hazards in the Workplace

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1 Preventing and Enforcing Musculoskeletal Hazards in the Workplace Anne Duffy, Provincial Ergonomist Specialized Professional Services Occupational Health and Safety Branch Ministry of Labour

2 Objectives Defining what is an MSD Determining how big is the MSD problem Ensuring prevention resources are available Enforcing compliance with health and safety legislation Ministry of Labour 2

3 MSDs MSDs are injuries and disorders of the musculoskeletal system such as: muscles, tendons and tendon sheathes, nerves, bursa, blood vessels, joints/spinal discs, and ligaments. MSDs may be caused or aggravated by various hazards or risk factors in the workplace. MSDs do not include musculoskeletal injuries or disorders that are the direct result of a fall, struck by, or against, caught in or on, vehicle collision, violence, etc. Ministry of Labour 3

4 MSD Data Definition Step 1: find all lost time claims based on CSA Z nature of injury codes (total of 16 codes) e.g.: 021 sprain, strain, tear; 029 other injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments; 082 sprains, bruises; nonspecific injuries/disorders back pain; etc. Ministry of Labour 4

5 MSD Data Definition cont. Step 2: find a subset of claims found in step 1 by selecting claims that are coded with the following type event code (type of accident) (8 codes) e.g. 20 bodily reaction and exertion; 22 overexertion; 23 repetitive motion; 25/26 static posture with and without force; etc. Ministry of Labour 5

6 Ontario MSD Data Overview From , it is estimated that MSDs resulted in direct claim costs of over $640,000,000 and in over 6,000,000 days of lost time from work During this same time period, the total lost-time injury (LTI) rate decreased by 22%, while the MSD-related LTI rate decreased by 15% Despite the decrease in the MSD-related LTI rate, MSDs accounted for 43 per cent of all LTIs in Ontario in 2007, an increase from 40% in MSD-related costs account for 43% of total LTI costs up from 41% in 2003 Source: Ontario WSIB Enterprise Information Warehouse Ministry of Labour 6

7 Preventing MSDs A Priority for all Ontario Health and Safety System Partners Ministry of Labour (MOL) Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Health and Safety Associations (HSAs) 12 sector-specific safe workplace associations Workers Health and Safety Centre Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Institute for Work & Health (IWH) Ministry of Labour 7

8 Ergonomics Initiatives MSD Prevention Strategy for Ontario MSD Prevention Guideline for Ontario, Resource Manual, Toolbox and website Research IWH research, systematic reviews, knowledge transfer CRE-MSD research, seed grants, sector conferences WSIB Hot spots website, safety groups, fund projects (pictograms) Safety Associations resources, training, Ministry of Labour 8 consulting

9 MSD Prevention Strategy for Ontario MSD Prevention Guideline Sector specific prevention resources Enhance awareness and knowledge of MSDs for front line health and safety system staff Enhance awareness and knowledge of MSDs for employers/workers Integrate into existing systems/initiatives An MSD business case Safe Design Research Ministry of Labour 9

10 OHSCO MSD Prevention Guideline for Ontario Ministry of Labour 10

11 OHSCO MSD Prevention Toolbox Ministry of Labour 11

13 MSD Prevention Toolbox Structure of toolbox 3 parts Getting Started (19 tools) MSD hazard awareness MSD hazard identification tools Control strategies Beyond the Basics (10 tools) Hazard recognition surveys Risk assessment MSD program elements More on In-Depth Risk Assessment (22 information sheets) Ministry of Labour 13

15 Prioritizing Jobs and Tasks for Risk Assessment Ministry of Labour 15

17 Road to Zero WSIB MSDs identified as one of four top priority hazards Generate firm risk assessment data Ministry of Labour 17

18 Research Partners Research MSD prevention Systematic Reviews Sharing Best Evidence Workshops MSDs in Transportation, Manual Handling, Job rotation Position papers Bring researchers and workplace parties together Ministry of Labour 18

19 Health & Safety Associations Sector specific expertise 12 sectors plus Workers Centre and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Consulting, training, publications 100 s resources on MSD prevention Ministry of Labour 19

21 Enforcing Ergonomics Minister s Ergonomics Sub-Committee Pains and Strains Campaign High Risk Initiative Safe at Work Ontario Ministry of Labour 21

22 Ergonomics Sub-committee Six key recommendations: Increase education and awareness of MSDs Focus on MSD prevention in MOL targeting initiative Enhance training for inspectors on MSD prevention Improve access to resource materials Improve tracking of ergonomic-related inspections Increase ergonomic expertise Ministry of Labour 22

23 Pains and Strains Campaign Enhanced training of MOL inspectors Better tracking of ergonomics activity Increase awareness of ergonomics-related hazards Availability of resources Promote prevention Progressive enforcement Ministry of Labour 23

24 Safe at Work Ontario Includes a proactive component to Regional Ergonomists field work 2008/09 Firms with an MSD frequency rate over 8.0 and more than 50 employees Participate in general blitzes 2009/10 Firms with high MSD claim count Firms within rate groups with history of high MSD frequency rates MSD Provincial blitz Ministry of Labour 24

25 MSD Blitz Cross-Program blitz, Month of April 2009, carried out by Inspectors Highly focused on specific types of workplaces and tasks o Industrial Retail grocery food sales Transporting goods on carts Handling products at heights Cashier workstations Ministry of Labour 25

26 MSD Blitz cont. o Healthcare Nursing and Retirement homes Resident lifting, transferring and repositioning o Construction Homebuilding, Low Rise Forming Access/Egress to sites Installation of work platforms Moving forms from interior to exterior of poured foundation Transporting forms from one site to next o Mining Handling of drills Ministry of Labour 26

27 Enforcing Ergonomics Occupational Health and Safety Act o Training of workers on hazards o General duty clause take every precaution reasonable o Maintenance of equipment o Risk Assessment Industrial Regulation Construction Regulation Mining Regulation Healthcare Regulation Ministry of Labour 27

28 How is your company addressing MSD prevention? Is MSD prevention an element of your written health and safety policy/ procedures? Is there evidence of an MSD hazard identification process? Do you know which jobs are causing musculoskeletal discomfort? Have workers, supervisors, JHSC members received any training on MSD prevention? Are workers encouraged to report signs and symptoms early? Are MSD reports investigated? Ministry of Labour 28

29 Concluding Comments MSD prevention requires ongoing enthusiasm and commitment MSD hazards need to be identified and controlled with the same diligence of other safety hazards Worker involvement is key participatory ergonomics Often the beneficial results are not immediately apparent due to the cumulative nature of these hazards Ministry of Labour 29

30 Work Should Not Hurt! Thank you Any comments or questions? Ministry of Labour 30

31 Contact Anne Duffy Provincial Ergonomist Specialized Professional Services Occupational Health and Safety Branch Ministry of Labour Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

ERGONOMICS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURY (MSI) Preventing Injuries by Design

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